Page 53 of Undertow
I simply couldn’t figure out how. I wasn’t a normal person.
Sell possessions? Nope! Everything was tracked and logged in history. Every dress my mother had worn was documented on social media or—everything about us was known. Jewelry and gems were all tracked and registered. Appraised and recorded.
Tapestries? In history books.
Cars? Yup, those too. Vehicle numbers all recorded.
Paintings? Oh, there were classes on what priceless works hung in our castles.
So make money? Nope!
There were laws against having other interests while running the nation. Of course there were. Ofcoursethere should be. I couldn’t invest money or have a company of my own.
Of course not. That would be unethical.
Butwe were also getting screwed. Big time… I just had to figure out how to outline that all and make changes for the future while handling the situation now without people figuring out I was massively in debt.
Awesome. Fucking awesome.
“Twenty million? No, you’re kidding me,” someone hissed as I walked down the courtyard. “For an underground fight? It’s gotta be a typo.”
“That’s what I heard,” a man whispered back. “That’s the prize.”
“They’re never that big. For one fight?” the first voice responded. “That’s crazy, life-changing money.”
It was and the reason my steps slowed.
“Yeah, but no one can beat this guy,” the second man said.
Glancing over, I saw two guards with their heads together focused on the second guy’s phone. I didn’t even realize I was moving closer until the first saw me and smacked his friend.
“Oh, um, Princess, we were, um,” the second said as he tried to hide his phone.
I realized how stupid I’d been and hurried to play it off, chuckling and waving for his phone. “It’s fine.”
He swallowed loudly and shared a worried look with his buddy and gave me his phone. “I’m really sorry and—”
“I’m not nearly as out of the loop as people think,” I teased. “The royal family never is. Father knew about them.” I looked at his phone and frowned. “What am I looking at?”
“Please, Princess, we…” the second worried.
“Benson would murder us and then bring us back to murder us again,” the first blurted.
I frowned and glanced between them, not hiding my displeasure. “I’m actually annoyed you’re worried overhimand not me. The underground fights and gambling are the worst-kept secrets ever. Especially in the capital. Father knew. I simply wanted to get updated a bit and make sure there still aren’t the more unsavory aspects like drugs and forcing women to—”
“We’veneverseen any of that,” the second guard said firmly. He cleared his throat. “Forgive me for interrupting you, Your Highness, but I promise you. It’s gambling and fights.”
“The drinking is even limited so no other fights break out and people don’t cause problems,” the first added and then moved closer. “This—it’s a secret app set up like it’s a fantasy sports league game. This is the current fighter no one can beat and his stats. There is a list ofcharactershe’s fought before. The odds on him and the reward.”
“It’s all in here?” I muttered as I went back and checked it all out. “Clever. They’ve come far with technology.” I nodded and pulled out my own phone.
“Princess, what are you doing?” the first whispered.
I frowned and then chuckled. “I’m not going to shut it down or snitch. The fights and bets are fine. I’m concerned about things taking a turn into the more unsavory while they think I’m distracted. This will help me stay looped in.” I downloaded it on my phone and gave it back to the second guard.
“You make a good point,” he muttered as he glanced at the first guy. “We should maybe suggest to Benson to actually check out known places now and again and make sure they stay along the lines the king allowed.” He shot me a curious look.
“I think it wise. I know Father wanted to legalize—” I snorted when they both couldn’t hide their surprise. “That’s taxable income. Profitable taxable income from what you just were discussing. Didn’t you ever wonder why there are so manyand make so much money but not legalized? When my father was smart and absolutely knew what happened in his kingdom?”
